Who Felt the Earthquake??

[poeticeclipse]

I'm curious to find out who all felt the midwest earthquake this morning.

DH woke up and said "were you just shaking the bed?" I said "No, you're dreaming. Just go back to sleep." DH always talks in his sleep so I figured this was just another one of his rambles.

This morning DH talked to his mom on the phone and she said "did you feel that last night?" We were pretty shocked and I kind of swallowed my words this morning after making fun of him for talking in his sleep again.

We live right on the Michigan/Indiana border. Who else was affected?

[disneygirlie11]

I live in Central Illinois and we felt it here too!

[MicMouse]

Oh Yeah - we definitely felt it here too.

We live about an hour south of Chicago and felt it pretty good. It woke me and my husband up, and we both asked "are you shaking the bed?"

That's the first one I've ever felt. :mickey:

Glad to hear that there were no serious injuries!!

[murphy1]

I heard about it on the news this morning! I am outside Atlanta, we had one a few years ago. Isn't it the weirdest feeling? Friends of mine in California say that they are used to the shifts:confused:

[KylesMom]

I woke up around 2:30 am & started watching Silence of the Lambs which was on TV . . . I must've fallen back asleep and been in a REALLY deep sleep, because I didn't feel a thing. I also live about an hour South(west) of Chicago, and many of my co-workers who live in the Northern burbs said they were shaken awake!

[WED1901]

We felt it here in Nashville.

[TheMartellFamily]

I did. We are on the Il, WI border. I thought one of my boys was comming into our room cause the door was rattleing then it just stopped. I fell right back to sleep. I asked the boys this morning if they were comming in and they said no both slept. Then I turned on the TV and they said that there was the earthquake and it could be felt all the way to Milwaukee, WI.

[Tinkerfreak]

My neice called me and said it woke her and her sorority sisters up and they all ran out into the hall. She is going to college in Terra Haute, IN. She said she was just getting used to the tornado warnings and that she never thought she have to worry about earthquakes. She is pretty anxious to get back here to Maine for the summer.

[The Flying Dutchman]

We felt it here in West Lafayette, IN (Purdue University)

[Shugoondola]

Oh my goodness...It almost knocked me out of bed this morning!! (Well, that's exaggerating it a little.) It was the weirdest feeling. The whole house was creaking and it went on for about 10 seconds. I originally thought it was a very strong wind, but when I looked out, there was no wind.

Then, around 11:15, the building I work in downtown started shaking for about 5 seconds.
I felt that even more.

:mickey:

[Jasper]

Here in Jasper we are just about 40-50 miles from the epicenter. Needless to say we were all wide awake after it happened. We actually had a few things rattled off shelves both at home and at my wife's costume store. Fortunately even for those right at the epicenter there was only minimal damage and no serious injuries.

It was actually two quakes that both registered 5.2 and were located about 10 miles apart on the Wabash Valley fault line. These two quakes happened just seconds apart so it felt like one quake. There have been several small aftershocks but there was one really big one at about 11:15 Eastern Time that registered 4.9. We think the first quake lasted about 30-45 seconds and the large aftershock lasted about 15-20 seconds.

When it started the ground was actually moving in small waves that you could feel. Because of these waves my first fear was that this was the big one that they say is due any time out of the New Madrid fault line which is near Memphis TN.

Back in about 1813 the New Madrid unleashed the biggest earthquake in modern history in the U.S. That quake was so bad that the Mississippi river ran backwards for a while, Realfoot lake was created, and church bells in Boston Mass. actually were swung hard enough that they started to ring! You never hear about that quake because there were so few Europeans living in this area that it was largely ignored. Obviously today would be a VERY different story!

Also, because of the soil structure here in the Midwest an 8-10 level quake, which is what they expect the New Madrid one to be, will be far more devastating than a similar one in California. So while they are rare, when the Midwest does have the "big" one it will be a real dandy!

[SAHDad]

I slept through it. It wouldn't have been too strong in our area of Michigan, and frankly, as a SAHD, if it's not my kids, I'm generally exhausted enough that I would sleep through it.

[poeticeclipse]

Here in Jasper we are just about 40-50 miles from the epicenter. Needless to say we were all wide awake after it happened. We actually had a few things rattled off shelves both at home and at my wife's costume store. Fortunately even for those right at the epicenter there was only minimal damage and no serious injuries.

It was actually two quakes that both registered 5.2 and were located about 10 miles apart on the Wabash Valley fault line. These two quakes happened just seconds apart so it felt like one quake. There have been several small aftershocks but there was one really big one at about 11:15 Eastern Time that registered 4.9. We think the first quake lasted about 30-45 seconds and the large aftershock lasted about 15-20 seconds.

When it started the ground was actually moving in small waves that you could feel. Because of these waves my first fear was that this was the big one that they say is due any time out of the New Madrid fault line which is near Memphis TN.

Back in about 1813 the New Madrid unleashed the biggest earthquake in modern history in the U.S. That quake was so bad that the Mississippi river ran backwards for a while, Realfoot lake was created, and church bells in Boston Mass. actually were swung hard enough that they started to ring! You never hear about that quake because there were so few Europeans living in this area that it was largely ignored. Obviously today would be a VERY different story!

Also, because of the soil structure here in the Midwest an 8-10 level quake, which is what they expect the New Madrid one to be, will be far more devastating than a similar one in California. So while they are rare, when the Midwest does have the "big" one it will be a real dandy!

I never knew anything about the New Madrid fault line! That's fascinating. I'm actually quite freaked out by the fact that we could feel it all the way here in Michigan so I can only imagine what it will be like when the "big one" happens.

[Nascfan]

I was in the kitchen and the window was rattling, much like in a big wind.....except there was no wind. Weird, and kind of cool once I turned on the news and found out what it was.
Oh, Toledo. Sorry, forgot that part.

[laprana]

I'm in SW Illinois, about 30 minutes east of St. Louis, and it woke my whole family up this morning! When I very first woke up, I thought it was a thunderstorm because of the low rumble I heard, but then I realized that the "thunder" was lasting for an awful long time and everything was moving! I looked out my window and sure enough, no rain, so I knew something weird was happening! We felt an aftershock here around 10:15 a.m., but nothing else...so far!

One of the St. Louis news stations was talking about how animals can predict weird weather events coming, and they had a lot of people calling in talking about how their dogs and cats had been acting strangely for about a week. I know my dog has been acting pretty odd for about the last 10 days, getting up in the middle of the night and waking all of us up. He would come in our rooms and pace around, jump on our beds, bark at us, etc. I thought he was sick and took him to the vet, who said, "He's fine, probably just bored. Take him on longer walks." Maybe this explains it! (And maybe now he'll let me get some sleep! :D)

[Jasper]

I never knew anything about the New Madrid fault line! That's fascinating. I'm actually quite freaked out by the fact that we could feel it all the way here in Michigan so I can only imagine what it will be like when the "big one" happens.

I am not trying to be an alarmist, but from everything I have read and seen on stations like Discovery Channel and Science Channel, then the "Big One" out of New Madrid will be horrible. Scientists estimate that if they could have measured the 1813 quake it would probably been about an 11 or higher on the Richter scale. Some even think it might have been so strong that it wouldn't even measure on the Richter scale because it was too massive.

As for damage, we are about 150 miles from the New Madrid fault line and they expect us to have basically everything wiped out. Depending on where in Michigan you are the "Big One" would probably cause anything from major cracks in walls and moving of some structures off their foundations in the south to broken windows and minor cracks in walls in the northern part of Michigan.

I don't remember what the exact estimate was for deaths in the "Big One" but it was in the many millions. You have to remember that Memphis, TN. is only 20-50 miles from where the fault is likely to rupture. And then you have St. Louis, MO. that is anywhere from 70 to 100 miles from where it is likely to rupture. And then you have Louisville, KY. that is from 100 to 150 miles from where it is likely to rupture. Then there are a whole host of cities and towns with populations ranging from 200,000 people to 500 people in the ring of "total devastation" that they draw.

As I said in an earlier post, the ground structure here in the Midwest is quite different from California. That means our quakes are much deeper which causes the ground to actually roll in waves. Out in California the ground tends to bounce up and down rather than roll in waves so the quake loses its energy before it travels very far. It is this rolling wave action here in the Midwest that causes a quake to travel so far with so much power. There is actually one journal from a European hunter who was in the area of Louisville, KY. when the New Madrid quake happened and he wrote that he was thrown to the ground by the quake and was bounced for more than a minute before he could stand up. Then there were aftershocks that lasted for a little over a year with some of them being almost as strong as the "big One".

Based on the geological evidence that scientists have found the New Madrid fault ruptures with a force of at least a 7 about once every 150 years or so. Because the last one was in something like 1813 the scientists say we are getting way past the time for the next "Big One."

Again, I am not an expert and don't want to be an alarmist but if more people are aware that it can, and likely will happen fairly soon, then people can be more aware and take precautions to protect themselves. For example, in Southern California almost everyone has their water heater strapped down. Here in the Midwest very few people have their water heater strapped down. And that is just one example!

By the way, I may be off on the date of the 1813 quake. It may have been a few years earlier or later but regardless it was sometime between 1810 and 1816.

[SAHDad]

I never knew anything about the New Madrid fault line! That's fascinating. I'm actually quite freaked out by the fact that we could feel it all the way here in Michigan so I can only imagine what it will be like when the "big one" happens.

Back in the early or mid-90s, I was visiting my parents in Peoria, when there was a New Madrid quake. It was kind of neat - no rumble, but the porch swing (that I happened to be occupying) started swinging, and some stuff on the porch rattled. After 10-20 seconds, it was done, and my dad came out, saying "Did you feel that?"

[OhToodles!]

We felt here in St. Louis too around 4:30 this morning. We felt the after shock around 10:15. The damage we've heard about is some concrete falling from a bridge, but it's still ok to use.
This is the first earthquake I've ever felt and didn't believe it was one until my drive in this morning and heard them talking about it on the radio.

[disneydeb]

Something woke me up and the dogs went nuts!

[poeticeclipse]

It's really funny that you all are describing it like "rolling waves." I asked my husband this afternoon what it felt like (I slept through it) and he said "the best way to describe it is like going over small waves when you're on a boat."

[Marker]

I was just getting to work at 4:30 this morning, but didn't feel a thing. Although I've heard reports from people who say they felt it here in KC.

Wouldn't be the first one I've felt here in my lifetime.

[Shugoondola]

It's really funny that you all are describing it like "rolling waves." I asked my husband this afternoon what it felt like (I slept through it) and he said "the best way to describe it is like going over small waves when you're on a boat."

That's exactly what I was thinking it felt like.

:mickey:

[k_reile]

i'm in nw ohio and felt it about 5:30am or so (my clock is always wrong) and it woke me up. Just felt the house mildly moving. I figured it was something...I thought maybe an earthquake but wasn't sure. When DH got up I asked him if he felt it...he did not...slept right through it. He thought I was crazy. Then he turns on the tv and they said something about an earthquake...he had to admit that I actually felt something!

Also, if there is supposedely a "big one" and devestation could be from hundreds of miles out....remember that earthquakes are not covered from your homeowners insurance. You have to have a special endorsement on your policy. I am an agent...and just checked on mine...it would be an additional $58 dollars a year. Just a heads up for if it would actually happen...please be insured properly or you are going to have a mess on your hands.

[Aurora]

We felt it in Chicago -- woke me up because my bed was "wiggling" back and forth. DH was sleeping downstairs 'cuz he had to get up early to go to work -- I went downstairs and said, "did you feel that?" He said "yeah, twice." We both just knew it was an earthquake.

We live in a frame house and this really makes me think about taking out earthquake coverage. I'm sure I'm not alone.

[Jasper]

Also, if there is supposedely a "big one" and devestation could be from hundreds of miles out....remember that earthquakes are not covered from your homeowners insurance. You have to have a special endorsement on your policy. I am an agent...and just checked on mine...it would be an additional $58 dollars a year. Just a heads up for if it would actually happen...please be insured properly or you are going to have a mess on your hands.

This is a very good point! We were looking for insurance several years ago when we moved to a new house and discovered this by accident. My wife thought I was crazy for insisting that we purchase it but now she is singing a different song.

[Tinkermom]

Since we live in the midwest I checked out some info about the New Madrid fault line. I read much of the same info on several other sites. I think I found it most fanscinating that the Mississippi actually flowed backwards for a time after the 1812 quake (even though the below info does not mention it I did read that in several other articles),WOW!:


From St Charles County (Missouri) Division of Emergency Management:

THE NEW MADRID FAULT SYSTEM EXTENDS 120 MILES SOUTHWARD from the area of Charleston, Missouri, and Cairo, Illinois, through New Madrid and Caruthersville, following Interstate 55 to Blytheville and on down to Marked Tree, Arkansas. It crosses five state lines and cuts across the Mississippi River in three places and the Ohio River in two places.

THE FAULT IS ACTIVE, AVERAGING MORE THAN 200 MEASURED EVENTS per YEAR (1.0 or more on the Richter scale), about 20 per month. Tremors large enough to be felt (2.5 - 3.0 on the Richter scale) are noted annually. Every 18 months the fault releases a shock of 4.0 or more, capable of local minor damage. The most recent registering 4.3 along the New Madrid Fault on Thanksgiving evening, 1996, which was felt by citizens in the states of Missouri, Arkansas, Tennessee and Kentucky, Illinois and Mississippi. Magnitudes of 5.0 or greater occurring about once per decade, can do significant damage, and be felt in several states.

THE GREAT NEW MADRID EARTHQUAKE OF 1811-1812 was actually a series of over 2000 shocks in five months, five of which were 8.0 or more in magnitude. Eighteen of these rang church bells on the Eastern seaboard. The very land itself was destroyed in the Missouri Bootheel, making it unfit even for farmers for many years. It was the largest burst of seismic energy east of the Rocky Mountains in the history of the United States and was several times larger than the San Francisco quake of 1906.

WHEN WILL ANOTHER EARTHQUAKE HAPPEN THE SIZE OF THOSE IN 1811-1812? Several lines of research suggest that the catastrophic upheavals like those in 1811-12 visit the New Madrid region every 500-600 years. Hence, emergency planners, engineers, and seismologists do not expect a repeat of the intensity of the 1811-12 series for at least 100 years or more. However, even though the chance is remote, experts assign a 3% probability of a major earthquake by the year 2040. Earthquake probabilities for known active faults always increase with time, because stresses within the earth slowly and inexorably mount, year by year, until the rocks can take no more, and sudden rupture becomes inevitable.

OUR GREATEST CONCERNS ARE THE 6.0-7.6 SIZED EVENTS, which do have significant probabilities in the near future. A 6.0 shock has a 90% chance by the year 2040. Damaging earthquakes of this magnitude are a virtual certainly within the lifetimes of our children.

[GoldenMickey]

I woke up with a jolt and my husband heard rattling on the roof - I asked him why he was shaking the bed. He said why is the vcr (on top of the tv) shaking? We were really half asleep, but it just did not stop! When it stopped, he got up and went to look at the vcr and I had rolled over - the bed started to shake again and I thought for sure he was doing something... but he was by the vcr. Today he said that last night he heard rattling on the roof and just could not figure it out and distinctive noises in the hall and thought we were being robbed which is what made him get up in the first place. After reading all of the threads on this, I think some research is in order. Not only would we not be prepared, but we would not even recognize it!

[momof3+twins]

I can't believe this was felt in WI. Awesome.I actually checked mapquest to see how far we are from the epicenter. And we are about 100 miles from it here in Missouri. It was wild. First, I thought my kids were running in the room very very loudly, then I thought my cat lost her mind. It started in the front of the house so I heard it there first and that is why I thought the kids and cat lost their minds. But, then the loud roar started, window were rattling, the dishes in the kitchen were rattling. My husband jumped out of bed and said tornado. I though the same thing so we ran into the hall and the loud roar and rattling windows stopped. Then, my husband walked into the kitchen and said the cabinets were moving. It took us a little bit but then we said An Earthquake? We waited along with the kids to see if the news would break in and sure enough they came on. And he said "Yes, that was an earthquake." It was freaky and the house vibrated and I think we got it pretty good here but it wasn't as bad as some storms we get.
And yes New Madrid, is very close. That is actually what I thought it was. Never heard of this fault. New Madrid is supposed to be awful. I have been scared of that since I was a kid.

[KEYONNAH]

I live in central Illinois and felt it at 4:30 and 10:30 am. I felt my windows shaking during the first and watched my co-worker's computer shake during the second.